Skeptic Friends Network

Username:
Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?
Home | Forums | Active Topics | Active Polls | Register | FAQ | Contact Us  
  Connect: Chat | SFN Messenger | Buddy List | Members
Personalize: Profile | My Page | Forum Bookmarks  
 All Forums
 Community Forums
 General Discussion
 The shallow end of the gene pool…
 New Topic  Reply to Topic
 Printer Friendly Bookmark this Topic BookMark Topic
Next Page
Author Previous Topic Topic Next Topic
Page: of 2

filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 11/23/2008 :  05:02:50  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
This oaf is twenty years old and in that space of time, you'd think that he'd learned something. Or at least developed a survival instinct.
By AUDRA ANG

BEIJING (AP) - A college student in southern China was bitten by a panda after he broke into the bear's enclosure hoping to get a hug, state media and a park employee said Saturday.




Pandas are bears, folks! Not very large bears, but bears nevertheless, and you do not fuck with bears however cute they might appear to be! The males weigh just a bit under 300# and are immensely strong. This numbwit, like other cuddle-fruits before him, didn't stand a chance and was lucky to escape with only moderate damage. Did he learn anything? Perhaps, but I'm not giving odds. Avoiding pandas (maybe), he just might try to snuggle up to a cute, little lynx next.

Me, I side with the panda -- stupidity will ever get it's price in gelt, goods or flesh, and rightly so.




"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend

Sweden
9687 Posts

Posted - 11/23/2008 :  05:08:03   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Send Dr. Mabuse an ICQ Message Send Dr. Mabuse a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I suppose he's worth an honorable mention at Darwin Awards.


Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3

"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse

Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder.
Go to Top of Page

Kil
Evil Skeptic

USA
13476 Posts

Posted - 11/23/2008 :  09:53:16   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Kil's Homepage  Send Kil an AOL message  Send Kil a Yahoo! Message Send Kil a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Yeah, it's amazing. On a visit to Yellowstone I saw cars parked along side the road with people out of their cars taking pictures of brown bears and offering them food. There were signs everywhere that read "Don't Feed the Bears" and "The Bears are Wild Animals".
Brown bears aren't particularly aggressive and probably enjoy the handout. But all it would take is a wrong move or who knows what else and serious hurt would have followed. A grizzly would have just as soon eaten the turists as snacks. And there are grizzly bears in Yellowstone too.

People can be so stupid...


Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.

Why not question something for a change?

Genetic Literacy Project
Go to Top of Page

Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend

Sweden
9687 Posts

Posted - 11/23/2008 :  15:11:23   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Send Dr. Mabuse an ICQ Message Send Dr. Mabuse a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Kil that reminds me of the story that ends "...and Grizzly droppings have small bells in it, and smells of pepper."

Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3

"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse

Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder.
Go to Top of Page

astropin
SFN Regular

USA
970 Posts

Posted - 11/24/2008 :  10:56:55   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send astropin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by Kil

Yeah, it's amazing. On a visit to Yellowstone I saw cars parked along side the road with people out of their cars taking pictures of brown bears and offering them food. There were signs everywhere that read "Don't Feed the Bears" and "The Bears are Wild Animals".
Brown bears aren't particularly aggressive and probably enjoy the handout. But all it would take is a wrong move or who knows what else and serious hurt would have followed. A grizzly would have just as soon eaten the turists as snacks. And there are grizzly bears in Yellowstone too.

People can be so stupid...




In one of those "faces of death" movies (One of my roommates back in college rented it) They had actual home movie footage of a tourist getting ripped to pieces by a bear in a national park. Yanked his arm clean off like it was a twig.

I would rather face a cold reality than delude myself with comforting fantasies.

You are free to believe what you want to believe and I am free to ridicule you for it.

Atheism:
The result of an unbiased and rational search for the truth.

Infinitus est numerus stultorum
Go to Top of Page

H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard

USA
4574 Posts

Posted - 11/24/2008 :  12:23:25   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send H. Humbert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by astropin
In one of those "faces of death" movies (One of my roommates back in college rented it) They had actual home movie footage of a tourist getting ripped to pieces by a bear in a national park. Yanked his arm clean off like it was a twig.
That might be one of those things where it's more convincing in your memory that in actuality. There is a bear attack in the original Faces of Death movie, but it is an obvious fake. Supposedly, a tourist is filming another man (who also happens to have a camera) feed a wild bear at a park stop when the animal rears up and "attacks." His wife wails in a most unconvincing fashion and the camera shakes so severely that nothing is visible. (For the attack, the editors inexplicably use footage from the camera of the man being attacked, and not a millisecond of footage from the tourist with a clear view filming from a short distance away). Yet when the bear begins to feed on the husband's carcass (now conveniently hidden behind a fallen log), they use the footage from the second tourist, who continues to sit there and film (as opposed to, you know, going for help or something). At no time is the victim's arm seen being ripped off.

According to wiki:
...several of the "human death" scenes are obviously faked (with Allan A. Apone, make-up and special effects artist for the film, saying that about 40% of it is fake[1])

and
Some of the actors and special makeup/effects crew have reportedly come forward to try to obtain credit for their work on this film. Most of these people were not in any union at the time of filming. This is the reasoning for the brief credits which helped make the film seem more realistic.

Anyway, astropin, I'm strongly led to conclude the bear attack scene is as fake as a $3 bill. I'm really curious if this is even the same clip as the one you are referring to since, as you mention, several sequels were made. Perhaps another more gruesome bear attack did appear in one of the later films. But if it is the one you're remembering, I find it interesting how much more realistic you recall it, including the additional detail of the ripped-off arm.

I should caution that I'm not 100% positive the scene was faked, I can only strongly suspect it. And the bear does obviously eat something meaty at the end, even if it's not a person, so if you are grossed out by that sort of thing you might want to avoid watching this. But if you are curious like me, here is a copy of the bear attack video. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts, Pin.

Edited to add: There is a quick shot of the bear leaving the scene with what I think is supposed to be the man's arm in its mouth, although the clip cuts off too quickly to be sure. Therefore, I'm nearly certain this is the clip you're remembering.


"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman

"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie
Edited by - H. Humbert on 11/24/2008 17:12:46
Go to Top of Page

Grim Ungainly
New Member

USA
8 Posts

Posted - 11/24/2008 :  17:01:34   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Grim Ungainly a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Wow. that's really stupid.
I've had reasonably close encounters with black bears and grizzlies, but after hearing the story of a guy who got on the wrong side of a polar bear, it almost makes me want to never go back to the arctic.

somehow our culture has been infused with this idea that nature is cute and cuddly, something to be at peace with... Somehow we need to stress the fact that we created towns and cities for a reason, because the natural world is dangerous, and it has no qualms about killing those who don't understand that.

"Much I marveled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly."
Edgar Allen Poe
Go to Top of Page

Simon
SFN Regular

USA
1992 Posts

Posted - 11/24/2008 :  17:04:54   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Simon a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I blame Dreamworks myself.

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
Carl Sagan - 1996
Edited by - Simon on 11/24/2008 17:05:22
Go to Top of Page

HalfMooner
Dingaling

Philippines
15831 Posts

Posted - 11/24/2008 :  18:14:09   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send HalfMooner a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I'm of the Stephen Colbert school when it comes to bears. As a kid in the early 1950's, I saw a stuffed polar bear, standing erect, in a Fairbanks, Alaska, museum. As I recall, it was twelve feet tall. (Imagine a six-year-old looking way up at the gaping jaws of such a giant.) It was one of the most profoundly terrifying sights I've witnessed.

When stalking people, as they do from time to time, a polar bear is said to cover its nose with a paw, so it cannot be seen in an all-white environment.

Four years ago, at my then-home outside Aberdeen, Washington, my little Chihuahua, Missy was barking at the patio door one night. I slid open the door for her and switched on the outside light. There, eating apples from my tree, was what looked to be an 800-lb. boar black bear. Missy, massing maybe one-hundredth the bear's mass, unhesitatingly charged the bear. I was able to call her back, just before she reached the big guy.

I respect all of nature's critters, but some of them are physically completely outside our frail hominid league. And, as with any intelligent wild creature, one never knows what a bear will do.


Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive.
Edited by - HalfMooner on 11/24/2008 18:18:32
Go to Top of Page

astropin
SFN Regular

USA
970 Posts

Posted - 11/24/2008 :  20:59:36   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send astropin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by H. Humbert

Originally posted by astropin
In one of those "faces of death" movies (One of my roommates back in college rented it) They had actual home movie footage of a tourist getting ripped to pieces by a bear in a national park. Yanked his arm clean off like it was a twig.
That might be one of those things where it's more convincing in your memory that in actuality. There is a bear attack in the original Faces of Death movie, but it is an obvious fake. Supposedly, a tourist is filming another man (who also happens to have a camera) feed a wild bear at a park stop when the animal rears up and "attacks." His wife wails in a most unconvincing fashion and the camera shakes so severely that nothing is visible. (For the attack, the editors inexplicably use footage from the camera of the man being attacked, and not a millisecond of footage from the tourist with a clear view filming from a short distance away). Yet when the bear begins to feed on the husband's carcass (now conveniently hidden behind a fallen log), they use the footage from the second tourist, who continues to sit there and film (as opposed to, you know, going for help or something). At no time is the victim's arm seen being ripped off.

According to wiki:
...several of the "human death" scenes are obviously faked (with Allan A. Apone, make-up and special effects artist for the film, saying that about 40% of it is fake[1])

and
Some of the actors and special makeup/effects crew have reportedly come forward to try to obtain credit for their work on this film. Most of these people were not in any union at the time of filming. This is the reasoning for the brief credits which helped make the film seem more realistic.

Anyway, astropin, I'm strongly led to conclude the bear attack scene is as fake as a $3 bill. I'm really curious if this is even the same clip as the one you are referring to since, as you mention, several sequels were made. Perhaps another more gruesome bear attack did appear in one of the later films. But if it is the one you're remembering, I find it interesting how much more realistic you recall it, including the additional detail of the ripped-off arm.

I should caution that I'm not 100% positive the scene was faked, I can only strongly suspect it. And the bear does obviously eat something meaty at the end, even if it's not a person, so if you are grossed out by that sort of thing you might want to avoid watching this. But if you are curious like me, here is a copy of the bear attack video. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts, Pin.

Edited to add: There is a quick shot of the bear leaving the scene with what I think is supposed to be the man's arm in its mouth, although the clip cuts off too quickly to be sure. Therefore, I'm nearly certain this is the clip you're remembering.




Yeah....I think that was the one....see what 20+ years will do

I would rather face a cold reality than delude myself with comforting fantasies.

You are free to believe what you want to believe and I am free to ridicule you for it.

Atheism:
The result of an unbiased and rational search for the truth.

Infinitus est numerus stultorum
Go to Top of Page

H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard

USA
4574 Posts

Posted - 11/24/2008 :  21:37:47   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send H. Humbert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by astropin
Yeah....I think that was the one....see what 20+ years will do
Yeah, it makes stuff seem cooler than it was.

I've had that happen with old scary movies. I'll remember a scene just being absolutely horrifying to me as a youngster. But then when I see it now it looks so fake and lame I wonder why it ever bothered me. It's true, one's emotional state at the time of seeing something really does affect how it gets "recorded" in one's memory. I bet thinking you were seeing a real bear attack left a deeper impression on your memory than if you had simply known you were watching a regular movie with actors.

Anyway, sorry for the aside. Despite this clip being a fake, bears are dangerous animals that need to be respected.


"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman

"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie
Go to Top of Page

filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 11/25/2008 :  03:08:28   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Plush toys and Muppet's and Yogi, oh my! And that is why too many people don't take bears seriously. Or any other wildlife, for that matter. Ever see anyone who'd been mauled by a raccoon?

I too, have seen the idiots feeding and even trying to pet black bears in the Smokey Mountains and wondered if they were born brain-dead or had to take a course of study to achieve the status.

I like bears. They are fascinating to watch, especially sows with a cub or two. But observing them is best done through binoculars and interacting with them in any way is not a part of the equation.

Kil, the bears you saw were blackies. They have a blond color phase that is quite common. It is unknown at this time if the blonds have more fun.







"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

Go to Top of Page

perrodetokio
Skeptic Friend

275 Posts

Posted - 11/25/2008 :  06:28:50   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send perrodetokio a Private Message  Reply with Quote
There is real footage (looked very real to me, at least) of a guy getting out of his car (while his wife telling him not to do so) to sneak-up and take a closer shot of feeding lions. A guy in another car filming (the feeding lions) caught on tape when a female lion comes from behind the dumb-ass (who is very concentrated in filming) and eats him. Check it out on youtube. Shouldn´t be hard to find.


"Yes I have a belief in a creator/God but do not know that he exists." Bill Scott

"They are still mosquitoes! They did not turn into whales or lizards or anything else. They are still mosquitoes!..." Bill Scott

"We should have millions of missing links or transition fossils showing a fish turning into a philosopher..." Bill Scott
Go to Top of Page

filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 11/25/2008 :  08:17:02   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by perrodetokio

There is real footage (looked very real to me, at least) of a guy getting out of his car (while his wife telling him not to do so) to sneak-up and take a closer shot of feeding lions. A guy in another car filming (the feeding lions) caught on tape when a female lion comes from behind the dumb-ass (who is very concentrated in filming) and eats him. Check it out on youtube. Shouldn´t be hard to find.


Seems that we get two or three of those every year, big cats & bears. Call me cold if you must, but I have small sympathy and as far as I'm concerned, the animal was the victim. I do hope, however, that this cretin's insurance was paid up and his family wasn't left destitute.

Oddly enough, or perhaps not, many maulings are by zoo-kept polar bears. Cretins just can't seem to resist crossing the barrier and reaching through the bars to pet them.

Unfortunately, this is not representative of the problem. Too often the cretins get away with it (more often than not the animal flees) and that simply encourages more cretins. With, sooner or later, predictable results.




"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

Go to Top of Page

Simon
SFN Regular

USA
1992 Posts

Posted - 11/25/2008 :  09:10:35   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Simon a Private Message  Reply with Quote
From what little I know on the subject, polar bears are the most dangerous among the ursine.
Plus, living under our more temperate climates probably make them all sweaty and even more cranky than normal...

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
Carl Sagan - 1996
Go to Top of Page

Dave W.
Info Junkie

USA
26020 Posts

Posted - 11/25/2008 :  09:31:00   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Dave W.'s Homepage Send Dave W. a Private Message  Reply with Quote
These are all pretty graphic.

Here's a lion who was truly a victim.

This lion-eats-man clip is from 1975, the narrator says the lions were chased off.

Then there are these idiots.


On the other side of the coin... Awwwwwwwwwwwww!

- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too.
Go to Top of Page
Page: of 2 Previous Topic Topic Next Topic  
Next Page
 New Topic  Reply to Topic
 Printer Friendly Bookmark this Topic BookMark Topic
Jump To:

The mission of the Skeptic Friends Network is to promote skepticism, critical thinking, science and logic as the best methods for evaluating all claims of fact, and we invite active participation by our members to create a skeptical community with a wide variety of viewpoints and expertise.


Home | Skeptic Forums | Skeptic Summary | The Kil Report | Creation/Evolution | Rationally Speaking | Skeptillaneous | About Skepticism | Fan Mail | Claims List | Calendar & Events | Skeptic Links | Book Reviews | Gift Shop | SFN on Facebook | Staff | Contact Us

Skeptic Friends Network
© 2008 Skeptic Friends Network Go To Top Of Page
This page was generated in 0.5 seconds.
Powered by @tomic Studio
Snitz Forums 2000